jik@PIT-MANAGER.MIT.EDU ("Jonathan I. Kamens") (02/06/91)
Question: How does Project Athena synchronize the clocks on its many workstations and fileservers? Answer: Each workstation runs a modified version of timed. The modifications prevent a workstation from becoming a timed master if the master on the subnet dies. Furthermore, our version of timed runs on a different port from the standard timed, to prevent non-Athena workstations with broken versions of timed from screwing up what ours is trying to accomplish. Then, one fileserver on each subnet is also asigned the task of being the timed master for the subnet. That fileserver runs an xntpd synchronized to our kerberos server and a few other Stratus II (Is that the right term?) time servers. Furthermore, We have a radio clock thrown in somewhere to keep things running smoothly :-). As long as the timed masters keep running properly, things work just fine. Occasionally, one of the xntpd's will die, and we'll start to find out about it when a workstation clock on that subnet drifts off enough to make authentication fail. Hope this helps. Jonathan Kamens USnail: MIT Project Athena 11 Ashford Terrace jik@Athena.MIT.EDU Allston, MA 02134 Office: 617-253-8085 Home: 617-782-0710